


Arabesque

by orphan_account



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Ballet, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-27
Updated: 2016-10-01
Packaged: 2018-07-27 03:13:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7601212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin asks Arthur to the ballet. Merlin doesn't know Arthur is dancing the lead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Adagio

Merlin heard the key turn in the lock but made no attempt to greet his flatmate Gwen when she walked into the kitchen. He had his head on the glass table and could see her feet come and stand by him. She put the kettle on. By now, she didn't even need to be asked.  
"Merlin?" she said softly, her voice almost lost in the loud droning of the kettle.  
He stiffened as she put her hand on his arm.  
"What's the matter? Is it that guy you were seeing, that Arthur?" she asked  
He nodded as best he could from his arms, but had to draw up his head and look at her from her sharp intake of breath.  
Oh no. Angry Gwen. No one messes with Angry Gwen.  
"That absolute bloody t-"  
Merlin jumped up and cut her off. "Stop, please. He hasn't done anything to me, I swear!"  
Gwen poured out the coffees and sat down at the table with him, "I'm listening"  
"We had another date tonight. Well, at least I thought we did. I thought we were really getting somewhere, it was our third date, Gwen!"  
He sighed. "Mum bought me those tickets to the ballet for Christmas. I wasn't really that interested at the time but the show is on tonight and I was thinking as the theatre is right around the corner from Pizza Express we could just have a quiet night"  
"Don't you hate ballet? I remember when you came to the ballet with Lance and I last year and whined the entire time" Gwen smirked  
"Fine, you're right. It really doesn't interest me at all, well it didn't until Arthur mentioned that he liked it when we went out for the first time"  
"You were willing to sit through a 1.5 hour show, bored out of your brain, just because some guy mentioned once that he liked the ballet? Is that why your mum gave you the tickets?"  
Merlin flushed. "That's just what you do, when you... get along with someone. Mum went to see the ballet just before Christmas, she really liked it. I thought I could take him along, as a surprise because it's his birthday soon, and so I text him this morning and he said he was busy"  
"Didn't you ask what he was doing?"  
"No! I was too embarrassed. I really thought he liked me but in that moment I just felt stupid. More stupid than usual"  
"Oh Merlin. I'm sure he still likes you, he's probably just incredibly tied up. What does he do?"  
"I don't know, I never asked. He seems closed off about certain subjects and I don't really know where to start"  
The two sat in silence for a while, until Gwen looked up, eyes bright.  
"Well, have you still got the tickets?" she asked  
"Yeah. I don't think I'll go though. Not on my own"  
"No! We can go together"  
"What about Lance? I mean, we can get him a ticket on the door if he wants to come. I know he likes ballet"  
"He's still at work, then I think he's going to Percy's. It's been ages since we've ever gone out alone together. Come on, get the tickets. We've got a ballet to see!" With that, she grabbed his hand and pulled him upstairs to get ready. 

Gwen's wild enthusiasm was the only thing keeping Merlin awake as they sat in the dim theatre. They had very good seats at the front but he would much rather have been at home. Maybe he could have watched that new film. He closed his eyes and pretended that he was at home.  
"Merlin! The show is about to start" Gwen elbowed him.  
She was full of enthusiasm. She loved the ballet. She looked really happy to be there, glowing almost, her cheeks shimmering under the dim lights.  
"Gwen, are you wearing glitter on your fa-"  
The music drowned him out. Disappointed, he slumped back in his seat. The chairs were really uncomfortable. They were made of some leather type material, and although they looked posh, Merlin kept slipping off. He was clinging to the armrests for dear life when the dancers came on. They were all wearing masks, a masquerade dance. Eventually Merlin forgot about the chairs of death and glittery faces. This ballet was more intense than the last one Gwen dragged him to. It was beautiful. How could they tell such a dramatic story using no words?  
The male lead filled the stage, and Merlin watched in awe as he leaped and twirled. Merlin felt calm with him, and felt like he knew him from somewhere even though Merlin couldn't see his face beneath the beaded mask. All of the other dancers faded out. Merlin couldn't tear his eyes away from this one. At the end, the dancer grabbed the female lead ballerina around the waist and lifted her, seemingly with no effort whatsoever. They looked like they fit together, his hands being the perfect size to hold her. Merlin felt a spark of jealousy and looked away. He couldn't let attraction for a random man take hold of him. He looked sideways at the sparkly Gwen, who had her hands clasped to her mouth, probably wishing she was the girl in the lift. She would probably try it with Lance when she got home.  
The music slowed down and the dance finished. The dancers all lined up and rose petals rained down on them. There was a rose petal in the leading girl's hair, and Merlin's favourite dancer, the lead man, picked it out for her. Merlin couldn't even watch. They seemed close. He was probably her boyfriend. Her beautiful, graceful boyfriend.  
They started taking the masks off, one by one. The girl took her hand away from Merlin's dancer's arm and ripped off her mask. Merlin wasn't surprised to see she was just as beautiful as her dancing was. Her long dark hair tumbled out of her tight bun and she smiled at the man. His mask was light blue. He whipped it off confidently, gracefully. Merlin knew those eyes anywhere. The golden hair. Merlin's legs shook and he knew that if he wasn't already sitting he would have fallen. The eyes met his and widened, showing shock and slight fear. Arthur. Arthur, the man he had been on multiple dates with. The man who he now automatically called up when something was wrong, when he fancied a chat. The girl touched Arthur's hand and led him off the stage. The loud cheers of the audience couldn't drown out the screaming in Merlin's head. He barely even registered Gwen's hand on his own arm. 

"What the fuck was that? You look like you've seen a ghost" Morgana said casually, untying the ribbons on her shoes.  
She looked with distaste at them. "Ugh, they're stained with blood. More blisters I reckon"  
Arthur tried to smile sympathetically at his sister but he couldn't. His father, Uther, the head of the Ballet School, came bounding over.  
"Nice dancing today, Arthur, Morgana. Especially on the lift. Had a lot of audience satisfaction tonight. I'll be expecting you two in the studio tomorrow at 10am sharp- lot of work to get through for the next show!" he strode off, whistling slightly.  
Arthur preferred it when Uther was in a good mood. When shows went badly, punishments were severe. There really is a limit to the amount of dancing someone can do.  
Morgana checked to see if their father had gone and turned to Arthur, "you can tell me what happened you know. I won't tell anyone"  
This was true. Morgana didn't really have many friends outside of the school. When all your time is invested in practice, you can't really have a social life.  
"Was it that man in the audience?" Morgana asked, either too insightful or too nosy for her own good.  
"Which man?" Arthur replied. He tried to keep it casual but the quiver in his voice gave it away.  
"The guy who couldn't take his eyes off you the whole time, stupid. Who is he?"  
Morgana's tone left no room for argument  
"He's Merlin. We met online. He goes to med school. It was meant to be our third date tonight. He asked me if I wanted to go out to the ballet and I said I was busy. Obviously."  
"You didn't tell him you were dancing?"  
"No! I -"  
"You should've said something! He probably thinks you hate him or you're sick of him or something"  
"I don't hate him, I really don't. I guess I didn't mention it because I was scared. I didn't know how he would react. You know how people have said things in the past. I didn't want him to know much about me. I've only known him since November"  
Morgana sighed in frustration, "You need to talk to him"  
"What? What do I say?"  
Morgana just glared, looking surprisingly fierce despite her pink leotard.

Merlin was sitting in his horrible leather seat, surprised that no one could hear the pounding of his heart. Was this what shock felt like?  
"Merlin. Merlin. He's gone" Gwen said gently  
He looked up. Sure enough, Arthur was being pulled from the stage by the pretty girl.  
"That's him, isn't it? That's Arthur" Gwen whispered  
Merlin didn't even need to nod to confirm to her, he just looked at her.  
"Who is the girl?" he said quietly  
Gwen didn't reply. She was staring at the spot Arthur had left.  
"Well, at least he didn't ditch you to go out with another man"  
Merlin laughed, a sad sound in the dark. "He never told me that he did ballet"  
Gwen smiled, "did it come up in conversation though? You know... you're also keeping a secret from him"  
Merlin shrunk down in the seat. "That's different Gwen, and you know it. I only told you because you forced it out of me"  
"And I'm glad I did, Merlin. I'm glad I did"  
Merlin looked at the stage for what felt like forever, wondering what to do next. Call Arthur? Apologise for jumping to conclusions? Congratulate him?  
He was jerked out of his thoughts from Gwen's hand grabbing his.  
"Merlin" came a voice from behind him.  
Although Merlin couldn't see Arthur, he recognised that voice anywhere. He stood, still grasping Gwen's hand.  
Arthur's gaze flickered meaningfully to their clasped hands but Merlin didn't let go.  
"We need to talk" 

Arthur's dressing room was really very fancy. He even had a chair with his name on the back! They both sat down. Merlin sat on the chair with Arthur's name on it. Not that he liked it or anything.  
"Who was-"  
"Why didn't-"  
They spoke at the same time. Arthur coughed awkwardly. "You go"  
"Why didn't you tell me why you were busy? You could've told me you were in the dance" Merlin said.  
Oh god. He sounded like a teenage girl.  
"I- I don't know how to say this. It's not that I don't trust you, but I've been teased a lot in the past for how seriously I take dance. I'm not saying that you'd be one to tease or anything, I swear. I just-"  
Arthur didn't know what to say. Even to Merlin, that much was true. Merlin softened completely.  
"I don't know who made fun of you in the past, and I get where you're coming from. I would never, ever do anything like that. If I was in your shoes, I would've done the same thing"  
"I really am sorry. Sorry for blowing off the plans. Sorry for everything"  
"Me too. I overreacted. I shouldn't have done that. Truce?"  
"Truce"  
"Who was the girl you were holding hands with?" Arthur blurted out  
Cheeks stained bright red, he looked down at his shoes and started undoing the ribbons just to have something to do for when Merlin tells him about his new girlfriend.  
After not even a second of hesitation Merlin started, "She's Gwen. I'm sure she would love to meet you! She was actually the one who thought of coming here"  
Merlin sounded happy. Arthur's stupid hands were shaking a little as he tried to ask the next question.  
"So... how long have you been with Gwen? Was this the first da- day out?"  
Silence. Arthur hated silence. He finally managed to get one of the shoes off.  
When Arthur thought he couldn't bear the silence any longer, Merlin burst out laughing.  
"Oh my god! Me and Gwen? You thought I went off with a woman because I was upset at you, didn't you?"  
With that, Merlin dissolved into more laughter.  
"Gwen's lovely, she really is! But she's my best friend. She's got a boyfriend. That's all"  
Merlin didn't think he wanted to mention the girl with Arthur on the stage.  
"That's all?" Arthur asked  
"That's all"  
"So we can go out?"  
Merlin smiled. "Actually I think I know a place- I don't suppose you'd fancy going for a quick pizza?"  
"There's nothing I'd rather do more"


	2. Dégagé

Tuesday's show had gone awfully. There was no getting around it. Arthur had nearly dropped Morgana in the lift. Thankfully Merlin wasn't in the audience this time.  
Arthur looked at Morgana where she was sitting, sipping tea.  
"What? I'm fine. No one else noticed!" Morgana said, calmly.  
"To hell with not noticing!" came Uther's booming voice.  
Morgana rolled her eyes and flashed a quick smile at her brother. They had been through this enough to know what was coming. Even in dance shows when the two were children, if one messed up there was always extra practice. Thank god Arthur hadn't dropped Morgana. He shuddered to imagine Uther's wrath.  
Uther stormed around the corner and met Arthur's eyes with an icy glare.  
"You slipped up? It may seem like nobody noticed, but for a Pendragon, the whole bloody world noticed!"  
"Dad, I-"  
"Don't! We can't afford to mess up again. What if you'd dropped Morgana?"  
"But he didn't drop me!" Morgana interrupted, eyes flashing identically to Uther's.  
Both men turned to glare at her.  
"Don't be thinking you're getting out of extra practice, Morgana. This routine needs to be perfect. We're getting national write-ups in the papers. We're dancing daily, dancing until our feet bleed and no one is stopping until the both of you are dancing like the professional dancers you were born to be!"  
With that, Uther stormed out of the studio and Morgana burst into angry tears.  
Moving to put his arm around his sister, this had happened so often that it was just as routine as the dances were. He sat with her silently, the only new part of the routine being that he got out his phone and sent a quick text to his boyfriend.  
M,  
going to be late tonight. v sorry  
Xoxo  
Almost immediately, his phone pinged again.  
A,  
what's the matter? call?  
Arthur smiled down at his phone, before realising that he ought to be comforting Morgana rather than texting.  
M,  
can't. sorry. miss you. love you. be there in an hour, promise! 

By the time Arthur arrived at Merlin's he was dragging his feet. Merlin shared a flat with Gwen and Lance, Gwen's boyfriend. They were all best friends- a trio, and sometimes Arthur felt left out. They tried to include him as best as possible, but he had to spend so much time away at ballet that he always felt slightly disconnected.  
"Arthur!" came Gwen's familiar high-pitched tone from the doorway  
Okay, Arthur thought, smiling to himself. He was definitely more than welcome.  
Gwen's infectious grin dropped slightly as she took in his appearance. "Where have you been?"  
Merlin flew out of the living room, all limbs and edges, so quickly that Arthur was surprised he didn't fall. For a second, he stopped dead in the hallway, and then he pulled Arthur inside.  
"Are you cold? Do you want some coffee?" he asked quickly. He had obviously been waiting for Arthur.  
Arthur smiled. Merlin had a borderline obsession with coffee.  
"Nah, don't worry about it. Hi Lance, what's up?" he said, making his way into the cosy living room.  
"Hey Arthur. It's been a while!"  
"Yeah, I've missed you guys. Haven't seen you since, when was it, Tuesday?"  
"Ah, but it always feels like longer. You basically live here"  
Arthur smiled at him and watched Gwen come in and casually wrap her arm around her boyfriend's waist.  
"Now. Why are you late? Mysterious Merlin here won't tell us anything" Gwen asked  
"That's because I don't know!" Merlin said.  
Arthur picked up on the hint of frustration in Merlin's voice and touched his hand to calm him.  
"Where else am I ever? I was at the studio. I'm really sorry about the lateness, Morgana was a bit upset"  
Gwen sat up straighter, "is she alright?"  
Merlin deflated a little. He knew the leading girl's name was Morgana, how could he forget, Arthur mentioned her all the time.  
"She's fine. I nearly dropped her in the lift."  
Merlin straightened immediately picking up on the shame in Arthur's voice, "What? Are you serious? Wasn't your dad pissed off?"  
Arthur laughed shakily, "It wasn't that bad. We've just got to do a bit of extra training"  
Merlin looked relieved, "That's all? Oh, well I wouldn't worry then"  
Arthur didn't reply. He knew full well what the extra training would entitle. More blisters, more pain, constant stress. Worst of all, less time with Merlin.  
"Can I have a word?" Arthur asked  
"Sure" Merlin's voice was soft as they stood up and went to the kitchen.  
They sat down at the table and Merlin got some biscuits out.  
"All of the extra practice- can we still see each other?" Arthur said  
"You don't even need to ask! Look, no matter how long you have to do this training for, no matter how long it takes, we can still see each other. I'll even come to the studio to watch if the worst comes to the worst."  
"Thank you, seriously. It means a lot to me that you understand. The show ends in three weeks so it will only be for a couple weeks"  
"You don't need to thank me, you clotpole. This is important to you, and that means it's important to me. We can deal with the extra practices"  
Arthur looked at him sadly. He really had no idea. 

"When was the last time you actually saw Arthur?"  
"Where's Arthur? I wish he was still here for Thursday football night"  
"Do you want me to put aside some cookies for Arthur?"  
"You haven't seen him in over a week, Merlin. What are you going to do?"  
Questions and questions and questions. Gwen and Lance just didn't stop. Their concern was kind, but simply quite irritating. Merlin was back at med school four times a week which took up a huge chunk of his time, but he hadn't heard from Arthur in person, only by text.  
"I don't know, Gwen. It would be nice to see him. He did warn me about this, but I didn't realise..." Merlin said, casually checking his phone for the millionth time that day.  
Gwen came around the edge of the table and sat down with him, arm linked in his.  
"Stop checking your phone. You're going to go out of your mind"  
"I miss him. It's stupid because it's only been a week but I do. I miss him and his feathers and glitter. I even miss the piano music, which in all honesty, I complained about every time I heard it"  
"Oh, Merlin. Remember, this is all only temporary. Soon enough he'll be out of extra practice, just in time for Easter"  
Merlin smiled at her gratefully, but she saw through the mask. He was lonely. She sighed.  
"Merlin-look. There is nothing I hate more in the world than seeing you upset and moping around the house. Even Lance agrees and you know he isn't one for feelings. I don't want you to be upse-"  
"I'm not upset, Gwen! I'm perfectly fine"  
"Well we all know that isn't true. I swear I comfort you more on this table than I do anything else in my life"  
"And then you come up with a rash plan, like last time?"  
"You can count on it. Today's rash plan is that I think we should go and see Arthur. Note that I'm saying 'we' so you aren't just going alone. I think you need the moral support"  
"Moral support? You just like the ballet, don't you?"  
Gwen ignored him. "We should go to the studio. There's no point you moping around waiting for him to come over. He'll be really pleased to see you!"  
Merlin's eyes brightened, "God, Gwen. I can't believe I never thought of that before. You're a genius"  
"Just doing my job as your fairy godmother" with that, she stood up, smoothed his hair back and left the room. 

"You'd expect us to be breaking into fucking MI5, not just a ballet studio"  
It was three hours later and Merlin and Gwen had been forcefully turned away from the main entrance of the studio due to a lack of ID. Gwen had text Lance and asked for his advice. This was a fatal move as they were now sneaking around the back of the building.  
"Fire door! Do you think an alarm would go off if we opened it?" Gwen said  
Merlin hesitated.  
"I could- you know.. do that thing. I can't do much, but I can mute some sounds"  
"Are you sure? Okay, I'll keep guard. Do it, quick!"  
Merlin concentrated on the door and only the door. He muttered the words, quietly as possible and watched the door glow gold.  
"Oh my god. Let's hope no one comes around here for a while" Gwen said, impressed.  
She reached out to touch the glowing door, but Merlin batted her hand away.  
"Don't touch it! It's got magic traces, can be dangerous to anyone who isn't- you know... Magic"  
He whispered the last word. It was still a subject he didn't know very much about.  
"Oh okay, sorry"  
The door was unlocked but still spitting gold sparks. Merlin sighed, eager to get inside. He opened the door, and held it for Gwen.  
"If there's any traces of magic on anything else we need to leave. We can't have you getting found out" she said as she crept through the corridor.  
Merlin was too focused on seeing Arthur to worry about the practicalities.  
They rounded a sharp corner and Gwen elbowed him, "he's in there!"  
Sure enough, there was Arthur, graceful as ever. The two watched him from behind a pillar for a bit, until the music stopped. Arthur had faltered during a spin and had stopped dead, staring at something Merlin couldn't see. He could hear the shouting though. The man was yelling at Arthur and Merlin's heart shattered at the look on Arthur's face.  
"Merlin, stop it!" Gwen grabbed his arm and pulled him back behind the pillar. Merlin looked down at himself in surprise. He hadn't even realised he had started striding over to the studio. He didn't even realise Gwen had frozen with her hand still on his arm.  
"Your-your hands" Gwen whispered, subconsciously stepping backwards.  
Merlin looked down at his hands. They were sparkling gold with red sparks flying away from them.  
"What in the f-"  
"Calm down. Merlin, calm down. It's only going to get worse"  
"I can't calm down if I can hear some twat screeching at Arthur over there and I can't do anything about it!"  
Gwen put her arms around him, whether to hold him back from knocking Arthur's dad out or to calm him down she didn't know. She had a right mind to go over and tell Uther straight but she couldn't leave Merlin. Who knows what he would do?  
Eventually the shouting stopped and the classical music took its place. Arthur was dancing again, a bit paler than before but he didn't look so afraid. The sparks stopped as Merlin got less angry.  
"Has that ever happened before?" Gwen asked cautiously.  
"No. Never" Merlin replied, looking down at his hands, "I knew my magic could get out of control when I felt strong emotions, but it's never been like that before"  
"Are you scared?"  
"I'm not scared of the magic. I'm scared of what I'm capable of doing. I'm scared of what would have happened if you hadn't held me back" he shuddered.  
Gwen stood there holding his hand until the skies turned dull. When Arthur hadn't stopped, Gwen tugged on Merlin's hand. Lance was expecting them back. Merlin sighed, and with one wistful look back over his shoulder, allowed himself to be pulled from the studio, down through the fire exit and into the night. 

"Dad was mad today, wasn't he?" Morgana said conversationally, loosening her hair from the bun.  
Arthur shrugged, "a bit, but it wasn't anything new. Not his worst. I think it's because of the write up we got in the paper yesterday, it wasn't brilliant but it didn't criticise us"  
Morgana hummed, braiding the ends of her hair.  
"I wouldn't worry about him. He only wants what's best for us" Arthur said to his sister.  
"I guess so, it'll all be worth it for the show finale anyway"  
Arthur made a face as he took his shoes off. "Got any plasters? Think I'll be limping all week with the size of these blisters"  
Morgana handed him a plaster and leaned over to look at his feet.  
She whistled, "Ooh impressive! I'll see if mine can beat yours"  
As with everything she did, Morgana did actually beat Arthur.  
"How long did you dance for today?" she asked, her competitive spirit shining through, "I'd say I averaged six hours"  
"Haven't a clue. I kind of lose track of time. It felt weird though. It was a bit creepy, I felt like I was being watched"  
"Well you were. Dad was there. I watched for some of it too. You weren't bad"  
"No, this was when Dad went through to the other room. I was definitely alone but I could feel eyes on me. Someone was watching me. I kept seeing shadows on the walls"  
Arthur rarely saw Morgana fearful, and this was one of those rare times.  
She was looking around a little bit frantically. "Do you think someone could be watching us right now? Oh, I'm not getting dressed in front of them! Come on, let's leave. You've officially creeped me out"  
The two made their way to Arthur's car, still wearing their practice clothing.  
"Are we going home?" Morgana asked.  
"No, Dad's staying at the studio for the private lessons. We might as well go round to a friend's house, just to have some fun. We don't really seem to have fun often with all of the extra work"  
"A friend? Who is this friend? Merlin?"  
"Well, yeah. He lives with his friends Gwen and Lance, they're really nice. I'm welcome there anytime so I guess if you're a friend of mine I don't see why you wouldn't be welcome as well. I've mentioned you a lot"  
Arthur didn't mention that every time he mentioned her, the room quietened slightly and Gwen and Merlin shared one of what Merlin liked to call Gwen's 'insightful analysis' looks.  
Sure enough, when Arthur knocked at the door, Gwen answered with her insightful analysis look.  
"Arthur! Come in, come in. And who's this?"  
"Oh, sorry. Gwen this is Morgana, a friend of mine. I'm really sorry I didn't mention it earlier, we had to depart from the studio quite quickly and I didn't have time to text, but Merlin mentioned once that any friend of mine was welcome"  
"Hello, Morgana. Of course you're welcome, come in, sit down" she automatically put the kettle on, "Merlin's still at uni, I'm afraid, he won't be much longer."  
"More coffee, Gwen? You're nearly as obsessed with it as M-" Lance walked in the room only wearing a pair of small rugby shorts. Upon seeing that there was company, he automatically stepped back.  
Gwen groaned. "Didn't I tell you to put some trousers on when we have guests? Get dressed and I'll do the introductions"  
Lance didn't speak, and blushing, waved a hand at Arthur and nodded in Morgana's direction, refusing to meet her eyes.  
"I'm sorry about my boyfriend. He's not very good with people" Gwen said, sitting down at the table next to Morgana.  
Morgana laughed, "don't worry about it. We see it every day in the studio"  
She met Arthur's eye and they shared their own insightful glance. An inside joke. Oh great. Gwen hoped that Merlin wouldn't come home to this.  
She tried to break the awkward silence, "so... Morgana, what do you like to do when you're not dancing?"  
Morgana laughed again, "there isn't time to do anything else. I dance all the time, I feel like I'm never out of that studio. I may as well just move in. "  
Gwen detected a hint of loneliness behind the words, "well of course you're welcome here anytime!"  
"Thank you so much, that really means a lot to me. So what do you do for a living?"  
Arthur tuned out the conversation between the two women as they started talking about the local furniture shop and the guy working behind the counter who Morgana fancied. He started tapping on his phone. He had four contacts and it wasn't much of a competition who he was going to text.  
M,  
I'm being held hostage at your dining table. Come back soon 

A,  
hahahahaha get used to it. Gwen's had many talks with me at that table, it doesn't get better. on way back now, can't wait to see you 

Sure enough, the door opened and Arthur leapt to his feet.  
"I'll just go and greet him then, shall I? Make sure he manages to do up all the locks..."  
There was no point in trying to pretend he wasn't going to go up to that door and snog Merlin's brains out. The two girls were too busy chatting to notice he was even in the room.  
He practically ran to the door and practically flattened Merlin against the doorframe.  
"Whoa, whoa. I've missed you too"  
Arthur just smiled at him.  
Merlin held his arms and looked down at him seriously, "what happened today then? was your dad alright?"  
Arthur crossed his arms, "He's fine, doing well"  
"So he was in a good mood today?"  
"He's always in a good mood, Merlin. I'll have to introduce you someday"  
Merlin opened his mouth, and Arthur stepped away from the scepticism in his eyes.  
"Speaking of introductions" he broke in, grabbing Merlin's arm and dragging him towards the kitchen, "this is-'  
Morgana wasn't chatting casually to Gwen where he had left the two. She was frantically speaking into her phone, gesturing at Arthur.  
He realised his phone had been on silent since he had messaged Merlin 20 minutes ago and took it out of his pocket. Oh no.  
Dad: 7 missed calls  
Just then, his phone rang again. He answered it with a dawning sense of dread.  
"Hello?"  
Uther's voice exploded in his ear, "where are you? did you leave the studio? I've spoken to Morgana already"  
"Yes I left the studio- it was past seven!"  
"why haven't you been answering your phone?"  
"I was busy- seeing friends" Arthur was not about to mention Merlin.  
"Arthur- you need to come in. Now"  
"No way! I've been there for like seven hours today"  
"Arthur"  
"What? Why?"  
"Gwaine's broken his leg. You know Gwaine who has the main part in the next show? The show we've been practicing for since Christmas?"  
"Oh my god. Is he alright? I'm coming in"  
"Arthur- we might need you to take his place. It's a huge role but I think you're capable of it if you work hard. Your sister agreed with me. We'll need to find someone to fill in your old role, you'll have to teach them the characterisation. It's an absolute bloody disaster. Get in- as soon as you can"  
With that, Uther hung up. Arthur lowered the phone slowly and met Morgana's eyes.  
Merlin looked quickly at Gwen, who was standing still as a statue. Gwen nodded slightly and Merlin spoke.  
"Are you alright?" His voice was soft, cautious, as though he were afraid of what he was about to hear.  
Arthur rubbed at his temples, the anger building up like a tidal wave. He had spent months doing extra practice for the role which was second best. He had learnt it off by heart, devoted his heart and soul to the dance. Now he had to drop it all. Morgana had obviously realised this, realised that she wouldn't be dancing with Arthur. Someone new would be doing the lift. Probably someone better. Arthur would never have gotten the role if Gwaine hadn't been injured. Gwaine was the better dancer. Arthur was just the replacement. Months of hard work crumbling to dust. The anger was red-hot.  
"It's an absolute fucking catastrophe!" he stood up and walked out of the kitchen in two strides.  
Merlin made a move as if to go after him, before shrinking back. He looked at Morgana, who looked upset.  
"I'm so sorry, you must be Merlin. We've had some bad news. The main guy has been injured and I think they're wanting Arthur in the role"  
"I thought Arthur was the main?" Gwen asked  
"No, he was in the last show, the one you guys saw, but this one is bigger. A lot more-" she winced as she heard a crash from the hallway, "-stressful"  
"So do you need to go in? We don't mind, we can see you another time" Merlin said, and by 'you' he meant Arthur, not this random girl who somehow knew his name.  
"Yes, I'm afraid so. I know he'll be really sorry to miss out on seeing you, I know how much he missed you last week when he was practicing. All that time for nothing. He isn't going to take this well"  
They all paused to hear Arthur from the hall, select phrases such as "Gwaine", "shit", "dancing" and "dad" coming through.  
Morgana sighed, "we're going to have to go in"  
"I'll drive you" Merlin volunteered. He was so not letting Arthur drive during a tantrum. He'd probably deliberately drive the car off a cliff.  
Merlin left the kitchen and grabbed Arthur, feeling anger evaporate from him at the touch.  
"I'm sorry. I miss you. We need to spend more time together" Arthur whispered, "even if I'm forced into this role and I have to dance more. I swear I'll find a way"  
Merlin kissed him on the nose, "don't worry about it. we'll meet up tomorrow, yeah? Come on, I'll drop you off at the dance studio"  
"Can I come back and see you after? I won't be there long"  
Merlin was surprised, secretly hoping Morgana wouldn't come back with him, "yeah of course you can, so I'll see you in about an hour or two?"  
"Sounds good to me"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm starting to get excited about this story. It would mean the world to me if you guys let me know if you like it or if you want to see more.


	3. Sauté

"Arthur! Morgana! you're finally here" Uther rushed towards them  
It was the most relieved Arthur had seen his father since his and Morgana's first dance show. He ushered them both down into chairs in his office and sat behind his desk. No drinks were offered this time. Uther was agitated.  
"Long story short, as you both know Gwaine's broken his leg. This is the new show, starting in 3 weeks. Morgana, there's another lift in this one which I wanted you to do. I think you're a lot more fluid than any of the other girls in the senior class. We don't really have anyone to do the lift, but we won't worry about that tonight. What we do need to worry about is you, Arthur" Uther leaned forward, clasping his hands.  
"We aren't talking about me? Can I go then?" Morgana asked  
Arthur looked at her, betrayed. Uther nodded, "fine, fine. I just had to clarify a few things. And before you ask, Arthur- you're not going anywhere. Morgana, do you have a way of getting back? I don't really want my daughter wandering the streets at night"  
"You can take my car. Don't worry, I'll get a friend to pick me up later" Arthur said, throwing her the keys.  
Morgana smiled at him, "Thanks! Have a nice time here in the studio"  
She was out of there before Arthur could blink.  
"Now, Arthur. Down to the finer points of business..."  
After an hour, Uther had registered that Arthur would be dancing the lead role, taking Gwaine's place. It would be a huge step up and so Uther required him to be at the studio tomorrow at 9am sharp. God, Arthur was tired.  
"So are we done?" he asked  
Uther waved a hand in his direction, dismissing him as he pored over a piece of paper. "Yes, just about. Go back, get some sleep. You're going to need it. You're taking on a huge responsibility"  
"Thank you" Arthur said respectfully before bowing out of the cramped office. 

Left alone in the draughty corridor, Arthur shivered. He remembered the sensation of someone watching him earlier and decided to leave. He pulled out his phone and looked down the contacts list: Dad, Morgana, Merlin, Studio. What a wide spectrum of choice he had.  
Suddenly aware of how cold it was, he sent a quick text.  
M,  
Lent my car to Morgana. Kinda stranded at the studio. Could you pick me up?  
The reply was immediate.  
A,  
on way  
Merlin arrived 20 minutes later and Arthur got into the passenger seat and kissed him.  
"Thanks so much for coming" he said. Merlin nodded and then looked down at their interlocked hands.  
"God you're freezing! How long were you out there?"  
"Hmm.. Not long. Maybe 40 minutes or so"  
"You were outside since 10:20? Why didn't you just go back inside the studio? I would've text to say I was outside, you didn't need to keep watch"  
"I can't go back inside there. I'm sick of the sight of it. They want me there in the morning too"  
Merlin tilted his head thoughtfully, "Don't you want to talk about it?"  
"Nah. No point. Nothing to talk about really. Tell me about your day instead"  
If Merlin noticed that Arthur had changed the subject, he didn't comment. "Well, I saw you earlier, remember?"  
"Oh god, yeah of course. Sorry, I was practically breaking your house on the way out"  
Merlin waved a hand, "No worries. My mum has invited us over for dinner, by the way"  
"Great! When?"  
"Is Friday alright for you?"  
"Yeah, fine. It'll be a welcoming distraction. I'll do a deal with Dad to have the day off. Although I'll need to sweet talk him for all of tomorrow because I want to ask if you can come round for dinner this weekend. I really, really want you to properly meet my dad"  
Merlin couldn't think of anyone he would rather meet less.  
"That sounds like fun! We could have the whole weekend together. Go to the dinner party on Friday at mine, yours on Saturday, then you could stay at mine"  
Finally they had worked it out. "I've really missed you. It'll be good to have this opportunity- show my dad I'm serious about you"  
"So you've told him?"  
"Not exactly, but I'm sure he'll understand. He's pretty reasonable."  
Merlin raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. Right. Reasonable to shout bloody murder at his own son, leave him standing out in the freezing cold and too afraid to say anything about being in a relationship.  
"I told my mum. She was thrilled" Merlin broke in, steely eyes still on the road.  
Arthur twisted the ring around his finger and looked up, "I'm really glad to hear that. She sounds lovely, I can't wait to meet her"  
Merlin wasn't looking at him but Arthur saw his fond smile. He was ridiculously sentimental sometimes, especially when it came to the people he loved most. Arthur didn't talk about his family very often. He felt too uncomfortable. He hadn't even told Merlin about Morgana being his sister because he was afraid it would bring up questions about his mum, or even lead to anyone finding out the truth about his dad. Sometimes he felt like all he talked about was dance. Maybe it was more important. It certainly was to Uther. Sometimes he wished he could just run away from all the responsibilities and the family. Maybe he could just run away and just be Arthur for once. 

The car pulled up at Merlin's and they both got out. Gwen, as usual was there by the door to greet them, although she was a bit brighter than usual.  
"Ooh, Arthur! You're still all glittery" she said, stepping aside to let them in.  
Arthur felt his face, sure enough, he had been so busy that he hadn't bothered wiping away the glitter he was wearing from dance that morning.  
He flushed, "I can't believe you didn't tell me I was covered in glitter"  
Merlin just smirked, swinging their clasped hands. "You know I love you- glitter and all"  
Gwen squealed. "See, Lance, look how romantic they are! That's how you should be for me"  
Lance came over and obviously grabbed her from behind because she squealed even more, "come on then, Gwen. Come upstairs. I'll show you how I can be romantic" he winked at her and she blushed furiously.  
Merlin cringed as the two bounded upstairs. He could hear Gwen's muffled giggles all the way up.  
"How many drinks have they had?" Arthur said casually.  
Merlin laughed, "knowing Lance, probably about a thousand. Funny to think I had only left them here alone for an hour. They've still got a couple bottles left, if you'd fancy it?"  
Almost automatically, Uther's voice rang through his head '9am tomorrow, Arthur. This is a huge responsibility. Any other dancer would kill for this opportunity'. He ignored it. So what if he was busy tomorrow? He couldn't spend his whole life obsessed by dance. He had to make some time for Merlin.  
Arthur rolled his eyes, "Do you even need to ask?" 

Oh my god. How much did they drink last night? The room still looked a little fuzzy. He checked the clock: 7:30. Fuck. Arthur sat up, spinning along with the room.  
Merlin's arm was draped over him and he tried not to wake the sleeping boy as he got up off the floor. Merlin had gotten even less sleep than he had, he'd been up since 5 spluttering and vomiting. Arthur tilted his head slightly, and regretted it, having to regain his balance after nearly falling. Merlin still looked pale. For a medical student, he really didn't take much responsibility in how much alcohol he could drink.  
Arthur left the room on the tips of his toes and crept silently around the bathroom, trying not to make much noise as he didn't want to wake anyone up. They'd all had a bit of a... wild night, to say the least. There was one paracetamol left. He felt a wistful longing but he couldn't do it. His pounding head was telling him one thing, but his good heart another. He left the paracetamol on the side next to where Merlin was asleep with a glass of water and some toast for him when he woke. He put his blanket on top of Merlin and scrawled a quick note, placing it under the plate so it wouldn't get blown away. He hoped his handwriting wasn't too shaky.  
'Merlin, wish I didn't have to go so early but I have to make up extra time for my weekend off (with you!). I'll drop in later. hope you're feeling better, try not to be too hungover for when we go to see your mum tomorrow  
love you millions'

Morgana pulled up in Arthur's car outside Merlin's house. Arthur jumped in the car next to her.  
"You look like shit" she said  
"Can't help it. Haven't you seen the state of our father?"  
Morgana's tried not to laugh. "Hangover, I'm guessing? Haven't you taken anything?"  
"No. There wasn't any paracetamol left. We got absolutely plastered last night, and then I've got to impress Dad today because he's letting me have the weekend off"  
"The entire weekend? What's the catch?"  
"Extra practice next week, on top of all the extra practicing I'm doing anyway. Then I'm cleaning his office out, and the changing rooms"  
Morgana winced. "Nasty deal"  
"It's worth it. He even said I could have a friend round for dinner on Saturday"  
"You're going to tell him about Merlin?"  
Arthur hesitated. "I have to. I feel awful. Merlin's told his mum. I don't really like talking about family and things, especially to him."  
"I mean, I'll be there for moral support but you do know dad won't understand, don't you?"  
"Yeah. Right. What else can I do for him? If he doesn't understand, or if he dares say anything then I'm dropping out of the show"  
Morgana raised an eyebrow. "You strike a tough deal. I'm impressed. Come on, we'll get you something to eat and then you'll have at least a half decent chance of dancing well"  
"Bring it! I am so ready" 

"Merlin. You've got to get up. It's gone ten" Gwen whispered from his side.  
"I'm not going in today"  
He managed to open one eye and swept the room.  
"How much did you have to drink, Merlin?" she looked pretty shocked at his appearance. Gwen, perfect as always, seemed fine.  
"No more than usual"  
"This stuff's pretty strong. Lance and I didn't have too much. He had a really early start this morning"  
Merlin groaned. Something was missing but he couldn't figure out what.  
"Why do I feel so shit? I don't even remember anything from last night"  
"You went to pick up Arthur around 10 then you came back and-"  
"Wait, Arthur stayed round? Oh god, I am the worst! I don't even remember. It just be the magic reacting with the alcohol"  
Gwen looked at him sympathetically. "Don't worry, I'll look after you. Yeah, he stayed round I think he left a note"  
Merlin looked up at the supplies on the table. When he saw the note and the only paracetamol his heart melted. Bless Arthur and his massive heart. Really, Merlin couldn't ask for anyone more. If Merlin died right now, which he certainly felt like he could, he would die happy. Arthur really was -  
"You're daydreaming again, Merlin. Where did he go?" Gwen asked curiously.  
Merlin scanned the short note quickly, comprehension dawning in his eyes as he began to wake up.  
Merlin huffed out and lay back down, letter clutched to his chest. "He's gone to dance class. I think I know why. He's allowed to have the whole weekend off but it means he has to do overtime during the week. We've got a few plans"  
Gwen smiled. "He did it for you then"  
"Yep, he's dancing for hours and hours today only so that we can have a weekend together. It's quite sweet of him really"  
Gwen bit her lip. "What about his father?"  
"What about him?" Merlin still looked tired.  
"You know what we overheard when he just tripped from a spin the other day. I'm guessing he looks just about as shit as you do today, no offence"  
"And he gave me the last painkiller. Chivalrous, noble, stupid clotpole going into a day worth of practice with a raging hangover. I hope he doesn't mess up. He was really looking forward to the dinner party tomorrow"  
"Do you think if he messes up his dad won't let him go?"  
"I don't think he would stand for that, and anyway, let's have some faith in him. Come on. He's Arthur! Arthur never messes up"  
Merlin didn't know if he was trying to reassure himself or Gwen more. 

Miraculously, Arthur managed not to mess up. Uther was very pleased. Morgana had mastered an especially tricky move and the practice had gone fine. Still, despite all of the happy moments, Arthur could still hear the music pounding in his head even though he had left the studio.  
"We're there far too often, aren't we?" he leaned back in the passenger seat of the car.  
Morgana grimaced. "Far too often. Thank god we get some time off for the dinner party. Do you remember that time when I was nine and you pulled me off the stage by the leg?" she laughed faintly, "he didn't have us out of the studio for at least a week after that!"  
"I also remember your first show, when you were so scared that you wet yourself in front of everyone"  
Morgana groaned, "ugh, don't remind me of that. But whatever, because you can't talk! Remember that time when you went up to that woman in the audience and you said that she had a cr-"  
"-No! not again! Anyway, that's not even half as bad as when you fell on the stage and tore your costume somehow. My god- I couldn't look away fast enough. Swear I almost got whiplash"  
"You'll get it again in a minute if you don't watch it!" Morgana shoved him playfully in the side  
"Don't shove me! I'm driving. Look- no hands!" Arthur took his hands away from the wheel for less than a second.  
Morgana smiled nostalgically. "I remember when Dad used to do that, back in the day. I also remember when he did ghost car, and turned off all of the headlights when we were going through the dark roads"  
"He used to be a lot of fun. Pity it isn't like that anymore"  
God, Arthur could do with a paracetamol right now.  
"No. I suppose there's more important things at the minute"  
"More important things than us, you mean?"  
Arthur laughed, his tone too sharp, hands too tight around the wheel, eyes too cold, "We'll never be good enough for him, and we need to stop thinking that we are, because we will literally never, ever meet his expectations no matter how hard we try" 

"I can't believe we're doing this"  
"Merlin. Chill. It's really no big deal!" Gwen said  
Gwen was wearing a pink apron and she had flour smudged across her cheek. Merlin was wearing his favourite jeans which were now coated in a layer of annoying icing sugar he couldn't brush off.  
"I didn't even want to do this" he complained  
"I don't care if you don't like the man, Merlin. I don't like him very much either, but in all honesty, you have to bring a present to a dinner party, even if it's for someone you dislike"  
Merlin sighed heavily. He had been mixing some different powders around in a bowl for the last ten minutes and his arm really hurt.  
"Cupcakes, though? Can you imagine the great Uther Pendragon's face when he opens the door to me with a bag of cakes? I bet Arthur brings something so much better to mine"  
"Shh, shh. We'll tie the bag with a ribbon at the top. It'll look great"  
Baking was harder than Merlin thought. The flour got everywhere and they had to start again because Merlin couldn't crack an egg properly. Gwen showed him how to do it and guided him through the finer points of pouring milk into a bowl. The cakes were finally in the oven after an hour.  
"Finally!" Merlin flopped down into one of the wooden kitchen chairs.  
"No, no! Get up, we've still got to make the icing"  
"Icing?" Merlin slid out of his chair and lay on the floor, "I'm tired, hungover and my arm hurts from mixing. Leave me here to die an extremely painful kitchen floor death"  
"Oh yes" Gwen said, grabbing his hand and pulling him to his feet, "Merlin Emrys, spectacular future doctor, extremely clever, star of the school: death by cake mix. Seems a bit mundane for you"  
Merlin grinned at her and kneeled down in front of the oven, "Perhaps a bit. Anyway, how long do these things take? They must've been in there, what- 20 minutes now?"  
"Five"  
"Oh." his eyes brightened and he jumped up like an excited, overly lanky puppy, "Gwen..."  
"Yes?" she replied suspiciously  
"You know how I wanted these cakes done quite quickly so I can get some things sorted out for tomorrow?"  
"Riiight..."  
"I know a way we can speed up the cooking process"  
Gwen, despite all of her sensible ways, straightened up. "You mean?"  
"Precisely"  
"Have you ever used magic to cook before?" Gwen whispered the word 'magic'.  
"Yes" Merlin lied, "I know exactly what I'm doing!"  
Gwen turned the oven off and looked around at him, "I'm only doing this because you're my best friend and I trust you"  
Merlin nodded, "Don't worry. When has my magic ever gone wrong?"  
Gwen opened her mouth just as Merlin remembered all of the times he had caused Lance to fall down the stairs, the time when Gwen mysteriously fell into the river and that time when the cat turned green, because Merlin was trying to make it look like the Hulk for Halloween but it never quite turned back.  
"Okay, okay. Forget I said that. It won't go wrong this time. I am pretty competent with my cooking magic" Merlin broke in.  
The kitchen was silent. Gwen was watching him in awe, her icing sugar bowl forgotten in her hand. Time for total concentration. Merlin focused on the oven, the heat of it and the rise of the golden cakes. He closed his eyes and felt the wave of magic, tingling and pulsing through his body and out of his outstretched hand.  
The entire kitchen boomed and appeared to shake. Merlin was thrown backwards into the wall and watched as the glasses smashed and the oven burst open. Gwen screamed. Merlin looked at the ruined cakes, practically liquified. Gwen was coated in a thin layer of icing sugar. Merlin was covered in dust, and for some reason, milk. They both lay on the floor. Gwen too shocked to move, Merlin too embarrassed. That was, until they heard the soft sound of keys in the lock and footsteps walking hesitantly towards the smoky kitchen.  
Arthur stopped comically in the doorway, eyes automatically finding Merlin in the chaos.  
"What the _fuck_ happened in here?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter today! There was going to be some real angst at the end of this chapter, but I changed it for a cooking scene. Next chapter will have the angst I'm afraid.  
> Hope someone out there is enjoying the story, if you have any comments, feel free to leave some and let me know what you think :)


	4. Élevé

Once Arthur had finished laughing, he took Merlin to the shop to choose out some cakes to bring 'if you so insist on the cake idea'. Gwen had cleaned the kitchen with an angry look on her face, so much so that Lance scuttled as soon as he saw her storming into the kitchen as if she was going into battle, just armed with a dustpan and brush rather than a shield and a sword. Merlin offered to help, but Gwen shot him down.  
Well, actually, she slammed the door in his face.   
"I think she just needs some time alone, with the kitchen. It was pretty important to her" Merlin said, sucking on toffees on the way to his house the next morning.   
"How exactly did you manage? Like, how is it possible to mess up cupcakes so much? Sometimes I do worry about you, I thought at least Gwen would keep you in line" Arthur tutted at him.  
"I-I'm not entirely sure actually. I think I must have put the oven on too high, I've never really been too fond of ovens"   
"I can tell"  
"And we're not mentioning this to my mum either" 

"You blew up an oven? Oh Merlin, just what am I going to do with you?" Hunith shook her head at her son. Merlin pulled a face at Arthur over the table, but Arthur knew he wasn't really in trouble.   
Hunith had been wonderful ever since they had arrived. Arthur had handed her a huge bouquet of roses, to which she immediately put in a vase and promised to cherish. She took a shine to him, telling him stories about Merlin's childhood and showing him photos. She reminded him of what a mother should be, and was very impressed to hear about his dance career, making him do a demonstration in the kitchen while she peeled potatoes.   
Even Merlin's house was as lovely as his mother. It was so quaint and cosy. The fire was always on and there were rabbits in the garden. It was so homely that Arthur was taken aback. Morgana would have loved it.   
"Now! Will's been round calling, and as we've finished dinner I think it would be a good idea for you two boys to get yourselves out of the house and over to his" Merlin's mother said. Arthur had already offered to help wash the dishes. She said no, he was a guest and that was how he was now standing outside a barn in the freezing cold.   
"Sorry, who?" Arthur asked, pulling his coat closer to him.   
"Will. He was my.." Merlin trailed off  
"He was your what?"   
"He was kindofmyexboyfriend"   
"I'm sorry?"   
"Will was, um, might've been my teenage romance. Long time ago now though!" Merlin put his hands up in a gesture of surrender, "nothing to worry about. He's probably got a girlfriend, or another boyfriend... or something, I don't know"   
"Who called it off?"   
"It was mutual" _it so wasn't._ "It was around ten years ago" _less than that_ "I wouldn't worry about him" _I so would, he's a dreadful flirt._  
Arthur started to say something else but was rudely interrupted by a scruffy boy, leading a dog around the edge of the barn. He saw Merlin and his face lit up.  
"Merlin!" his voice was rough but so full of pure delight that it wasn't even noticeable. The two went through hugging and a tussle which reminded Arthur of a secret handshake.   
"And who is this fine chap?" Will asked, strolling over and clapping Arthur on the shoulder- as if they were friends!   
"Arthur. Arthur Pendragon"   
Merlin stiffened slightly at the formal tone. Arthur was using his Ice Voice.   
Will didn't seem to notice anything and shook Arthur's hand vigorously, "I'm Will. Great, great pleasure. I love meeting Merlin's friends"   
Arthur's eyes narrowed and he stepped forwards.  
"What exactly have you heard about me?"   
"Just the basics. Not very much. Hence why I didn't even know your name until you introduced yourself"   
Will was so cheery, it just about killed Arthur. He longed to wipe the smug smile off the other boy's face.   
"So, I'm assuming that as you haven't seen Merlin in, what, like weeks? Months? I'm assuming that he hasn't told you about us"   
"Us?" Will's voice faltered for the first time.   
"Us." Arthur had Merlin's hand in a possessive death grip.   
Will's eyes met Merlin's. Merlin feigned surprise as he said, "I thought I told you!"   
"I guess not" Will replied   
Arthur raised an elegant eyebrow, "Funny that"   
"Yes... funny. Don't suppose you'd mind awfully if I had a quick word with you, Pendragon?" Will asked.  
 _Shit_ Arthur thought, _I'm being surnamed_  
"Sure. Go ahead" Arthur leaned against the barn wall and nonchalantly crossed his arms.   
"Privately" Will demanded  
Merlin rolled his eyes, "Fine, I'll just be here when you get back then, shall I?"   
"Thanks Merlin!" Will shouted over his shoulder as he walked into the barn with Arthur.   
Merlin sighed and sat down on the grass with the dog, ready for a long, cold wait. 

"So, what do you want to say? Something so important that you couldn't say it out there" Arthur sat down on the floor and waved his hand at Will, "Come on, we don't stand on ceremony in this barn"  
Will scowled and crashed down next to Arthur like a broken clothes rack.   
"I tried to be polite to you, and I know I'm going to have to be, as you'll be here the next morning milking the cows-"   
"Milking the cows?!"   
Will ignored him. "So I'll be civil to you, if you be civil to me. I gather that you've heard the story and probably don't like me very much"  
Arthur, being Arthur, didn't admit to anything.   
"No, well-"   
Will cut in, "but you mean a lot to Merlin, a fool could see that. He'd probably believe you if you told him the stars were falling from the sky. God, he's so trusting he'd probably run out with a basket to catch them in. This is hard for me to say. Just... look after him. I know he wouldn't like to see a rift between us, as you're important to him and so am I, dare I say so despite all that happened. If you're nice to him, I'll be nice to you. Fail to do so, and I'll make your life a living hell"   
On that cheery note, Will made his way out of the barn. Arthur was left staring after him, feeling, for once in his life, lost for words. 

Hunith had almost cried when they were leaving the following morning. Arthur had helped her clean up and had promised to come through and see her again in a few weeks.   
"It seems that she likes you more than me!" Merlin joked as they drove away, waving out of the window.   
"She's wonderful" Arthur said, a bit wistfully.   
"You can come over again. We'll arrange something around our schedules. I know she'd love to see us again"   
"That would be great"   
Arthur was nervous for Merlin to meet his family. He was keeping a lot of secrets about them. Merlin had met Morgana, but Arthur had wriggled out of saying that they were related at the time. He didn't want family connections. Well, he didn't before. Now, he'd met Merlin's mum it had made him realise how important family was. He had told Merlin that his mum had died, but he didn't want Merlin to find out the truth about everything. Not just the truth about his mum, but also about his dad. The Pendragons were messed up, and they tried to hide that fact through ballet. What Uther didn't realise was that no one could practice enough to hide secrets. Sometimes they leak out around the edges. One stumble on a perfect pirouette and one secret's out. Arabesque. Arabesque. Arabesque. How many is too many? Uther thought that enough ballet would fix everything. It wouldn't. Ballet would never fix Arthur's relationship with Uther. It would never make his Mum come back. Ballet wouldn't fix the Pendragons, and it wouldn't be long until Merlin found out about them. That secret. Arthur hoped that he wouldn't be there to hear about it.   
"Hey- are you alright? You're lost in your own thoughts" Merlin asked  
"I'm fine. Just nervous. Nervous about you meeting my family"   
"You don't need to be worried about it. I won't trash the mighty Pendragon manor or anything. I'll be on my best behaviour"  
Arthur smirked at him, "You? On your best behaviour? Now that is something I would like to see. Weren't you the one who blew up an oven the other day?"   
Merlin laughed, slightly nervously "don't mention that to your dad though. I don't want to make a bad impression"   
"Trust me. There's no way you could make a bad impression, not on anyone" 

Merlin fidgeted more and more as they drove towards the house. It was in Camelot, a posh area of the city. As they parked the car in the huge driveway, he was jumpy. He tried to hide his nerves and act like he was totally calm in the situation, but his magic was jumping beneath his skin and he was clenching his fists to avoid them emitting golden sparks.   
Arthur was looking at him sympathetically as they got closer. He was fine, he had grown up here. He had grown up trying to impress Uther. Merlin hadn't even met Uther. Well, not formally. Merlin gestured towards the door where Uther was coming out to greet them. Arthur sighed.  
"Don't worry. Again, you'll be fine" he said, swinging himself out of the car.   
Merlin's legs would not swing like that, so he got out of the car in a more sensible manner.  
As he approached the doors of Hell, he wished he hadn't brought cakes. Uther shook his hand, took the cakes and beckoned him into the house.  
"Lovely to finally meet you, Merlin. I've heard all about you. Please, make yourself at home"  
God, it was formal here. It was like having tea with the bloody King of England, rather than just the King of Ballet.   
"If you wouldn't mind, Arthur- a word?" Uther asked  
Arthur met Merlin's eyes. Merlin nodded slightly. Arthur looked back to Uther.  
"Sure. Sorry, Merlin, this won't take long"   
Merlin smiled and watched the two men walk towards the other end of the hallway. They went through a small door and Merlin took the opportunity to look around the room. It was a huge hall, but there was no trace of family. There were no pictures on the walls, none of Arthur or his sister growing up. Merlin would have said there was no trace of the Pendragons at all, until he saw the trophy case. It was the only sign that a family lived in the house. There were stacks of trophies and awards, leading up to the ceiling. Just as Merlin was making his way over to look, the door opened and Arthur and Uther reappeared.   
"I'm afraid my sister won't be joining us tonight. She's..." Arthur glanced sideways at his father quickly, "busy"   
Merlin nodded like this was perfectly normal. "That's okay"   
The mysterious sister. Does she even exist?   
Uther obviously approved of this response, and opened the double doors to the dining hall.   
"Please, sit down, we'll be served and then you can tell me all about yourself" 

Dinner with the Pendragons was completely different from how it was in Ealdor. At Merlin's house, no one was formal. There was laughter and music and - love. Everything was cold at the Pendragon house. The hall was freezing, because it was so grand. It was all huge.   
Merlin sat down and raised his eyebrows at all of the knives and forks spread out across the white tablecloth. The excess cutlery was just the first sign of things to go wrong. What didn't go wrong in Merlin's life? Uther questioned him about his schooling, his home, friends, work, everything under the sun. It was all going fine until dessert.   
"So, Merlin. Arthur tells me you grew up on a farm. Please do tell me about it" Uther said, leaning across the table towards Merlin.   
"Well, I usually, you know, milk the cows and stuff"   
Merlin cringed. His attempt at being formal didn't hold a torch to Uther.   
Arthur jumped in, "The farm is a very successful business. Last year, the economic situation-"   
Thank god for Arthur. Merlin tuned his words out, as he didn't have a clue about made-up economic statistics, or how to impress formal parents either. He focused on Arthur's hair, one strand almost out of place. Merlin wondered if it was as soft as it looked. He was too busy thinking about what precise shade of blue Arthur's eyes were that he didn't realise Uther had stopped talking about figures and was rising out of his seat, suspiciously muttering something about someone knocking at the door. Now that Merlin listened, he could also hear the frantic hammering.   
Merlin jumped up with a start and knocked over his ice cream bowl. Shit. Chocolate staining the white cloth. Fuck. Quick. He looked for a cloth. Naturally, there were none.   
"Who is it?" Arthur asked, straining to look out of the window.   
It was only a miracle that Arthur could be extremely oblivious at times and hadn't even seen the chocolate explosion.   
Arthur was still looking away, Uther was still answering the door. If he acted fast, he could fix it. Merlin felt his hand grow hot as the magic sparked out and cleaned the cloth. Just as quickly, Uther entered the room with the biggest smile on his face Merlin had seen since Arthur's last dance show. Merlin whipped his hand away and shoved it into his jeans pocket. Nervously, he looked around at Arthur, who was looking thankfully in the direction of Uther.   
"What-" Arthur began to ask before he was interrupted by the swinging of the door.  
A beautiful girl walked in, smiling. She was even more beautiful than the lead ballerina of the first show. She had light hair and eyes, and her skin was perfectly pale and porcelain. Her smile was infectious and everything about her was eye-catching. She seemed to scream _'look at me! look at me! I'm the prettiest girl in the room!'_. Arthur shot up out of his seat with the grace only a dancer could achieve. Merlin, realising a few seconds too late that he also ought to rise to make an impression, raised with the grace only someone really very lanky and clumsy could achieve, his knees hitting the table as he stood.   
Uther was beaming and holding his hand out towards the girl. "Arthur, Merlin, this is Sophia. She's going to be joining us tonight" 

"Sophia. Sophia. Fucking Sophia. Does he ever mention anything else? It was that look in his eyes as soon as he saw her. I knew it. He likes her. Oh my god, Gwen, how could I be so naïve?" Merlin hunched forwards in his chair, grasping at his hair with his fingers.   
Gwen glanced at him and placed a small glass of wine on the table in front of him. Gwen had been great ever since the Sophia incident. As soon as Merlin came home from the Hell Dinner, she realised he was upset. She made up with him immediately and sat down with him for the night to hear about it. Sophia was another ballet dancer, from a dance company in Southern Europe. She was over on an exchange and was apparently supposed to be incredibly talented, even more so than the lead girls at Arthur's studio. She danced with Arthur when they were young, around thirteen, but they hadn't met since. A lot can change in ten years. Uther loved her, because of her family connections. She had strong links to the powerful dance world, and hence why Uther came up with the 'brilliant' idea of reuniting Sophia and Arthur, the two protégées, in another dance.   
"Would you believe that Arthur just said it would be 'unfortunate' that his sister wasn't going to be dancing the lead female role with him? Unfortunate! Utterly devastating more like it that Sophia's taking her place. God, I wonder how she feels about _that"_  
Merlin was on a roll by now.   
"And, Sophia's so pretentious! She's changing him. I never see him anymore, and when I do, he isn't like himself, Gwen. He really isn't. He doesn't laugh and joke around, he doesn't even seem to remember the places we've been, or at least he doesn't seem to care about them as much as he used to. Maybe what I'm trying to say is that he doesn't care so much about me now she's came into the picture and I'm not jealous or anything, I just don't like her. She's strange"  
Gwen sighed. "Merlin, you're just being paranoid. There's no way"   
"There's something weird about her, Gwen. Something really weird. I didn't realise at first..."   
"Why not?"   
"She's just really, really beautiful, I can see how many people would fall for her and I'm not into women at all. Except you, of course" he winked at her jokingly and she slapped his arm  
"She kind of makes everything in the room stop, and I assumed it was because she kind of draws eyes, but it really isn't that. Gwen- I walked past her the other day, and I felt something. The kind of thing I only felt when walking past other people, you know, like my Uncle Gaius"   
Gwen continued to look clueless.   
Merlin continued in a whisper, "People with magic, Gwen. I felt it, I know I did"   
"But she's a dancer. Why would she be a sorceress?"   
"Maybe she can be both. I don't know. I don't understand why she's here. Why she appeared so suddenly. How she remembered where Arthur's house was"   
"You know what we need to do? We need to find her, and you need to make sure about this magic thing, because it is a huge accusation. Once you're sure, we'll confront her, and we'll speak to Arthur. Oh, and Merlin?"   
"Yeah?"   
"I think you need to speak to Gaius. Invite him round. Doesn't he know the most about the ancient magic than anyone else around here?" 

It was all thanks to Gwen's suggestion that Gaius ended up sitting in the kitchen on Thursday. Arthur hadn't been over in a while and was spending more and more time at the studio. He told Merlin it was because of the lead role he had in the new show. Merlin thought that the lead role was the last thing he was working on in those studios.   
"I've done a lot of reading on this issue, Merlin" he had said, first thing in the morning over a cup of coffee.   
"And?" Merlin replied impatiently.  
He didn't mean to be rude, but he was sick of being slowly more and more sidelined by Arthur.   
"And I need to see her to confirm this, but from what you told me about sensing her magic, I think she's a Sidhe"   
"A what?"   
"A Sidhe. She's beautiful, has an extreme magic pull, and is incredibly good at anything she does, in this case, her ballet. She's almost freakishly good at it, I've been watching videos of her dance. The Sidhe- they're ancient people. I think Sophia wants into the country, she wants into English ballet. Sidhe don't stop to get what they want"  
"How does this involve Arthur then?"   
"I don't know. I need to see him as well. From what you've told me, and this is entirely plausible given Sophia's status... it sounds like he's under an enchantment"


End file.
